First lab day - year 3

Oh. My. Goodness.

I simply cannot believe how much I've forgotten over the summer. 

Yesterday we were informed that we had to read about 200 pages to prep for today's lab.  I got through most of them, but do admit to skimming the last 50 or so.  We reviewed in class the various types of injections, and head-to-toe assessments.

Then we had to write a brief nursing narrative of a particular case.  Do you think any of the appropriate terminology was coming to mind as I stared at the blank sheet of paper???  In April, a mere few months ago, I was starting to feel I actually sounded a bit like a medical professional.  Today, nil.  Nothing.  Hopefully that will come back quickly.  I felt like I was a 5 year old writing a nursing note.  How embarrassing! 

We use mannequins ("dummies"!) in the lab, and they are so realistic, I can hardly believe it.  They have a pulse, we can take their BP, we can listen to their breathing and various breath sounds and crackles and the like.

At one point today, I was listening to the heart of a simulation baby.  I have 3 kids, and have listened to their hearts even as babies.  A lot.  Yes, I had a stethoscope for many (many!) years before finally getting my courage up and going to nursing school.  So all that to say, I have listened to many baby hearts.

Today in lab, when I was listening to the sim baby, had my eyes been closed and I didn't know it was a sim dummy, I would have sworn it was a real heart I was listening to.  It was incredible.

We were told they also have a circulatory system on one side where we can practice inserting IVs....that is on tomorrow morning's agenda. 

It is still very overwhelming in figuring out due dates for quizzes and assignments, and doing the readings.  However, I am beyond thrilled to be in third year nursing school.

Our clinical rotations start next week, and I'm assigned to a floor where 0-4 year olds are looked after.  I got the "baby" floor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Then for the next clinical rotation I got placed on the L&D floor that I have long dreamed to working on.  Seriously, how did I get this lucky???

Back to my reading and preparation for tomorrow morning.  It's only been 2 days, but I cannot wait for the weekend to catch up on everything.

Yes, they warned us this would be an intense year.  They were not exaggerating.  Lol!

Day One, Year Three

OK, now we are officially more than half way done our nursing program!  Today was the official half-way mark, and its over, so we're technically more than half-way done. (I'll take what I can get!)

We had our "intro to 3rd year" orientation, where we met up with classmates after the l-o-n-g summer break, and met our profs, clinical and lab instructors for the coming year. 

Even though I had the usual "butterflies" while getting ready this morning, it was more a reunion of sorts.  The first familiar person I happened to see was my best nursing school pal, Z, and so that was the perfect way to start the year.  So many hugs were exchanged with so many people -- it simply felt great to be back. 

We had the usual presentations about being organized, staying on top of your readings, the plagiarism policy, etc. etc.  But some questions about schedules and classes and the like got sorted out.  And frankly, it simply felt so good to be there, and just feel the positive (and nervous!) energy of the room. 

It seems the clinical rotations are going to be fantastic.  I cannot wait to learn from them, and to see how we grow and develop into quasi-nurses, and not just students who are studying nursing. 

I am so looking forward to jumping into this semester with both feet.  I must go look at my school's website, as we were told there are already items posted there that we need to prep for tomorrow morning's lab orientation.  And my daughter starts her piano lessons tonight.  Another one starts dance classes.  Factor in the Scouts for my son, and Guides and Brownies.  And downhill skiing for the family.  Ah, I'm sure homework will factor in there somewhere too....

Yes, school/activities/homework/LIFE as we know it, has truly re-started again after the summer break.

Bring it on.  This year is going to be g-r-e-a-t!!!!!!!  This is going to be fun.  Busy, but fun.

Life is good.
:-)

Year 3 starts tomorrow!

The kids went back to school this morning.  I am feeling out of sorts having them gone.  It was a busy, fun, truly great summer.  And suddenly its over. 

Maybe I was in denial about school starting up again, as I've never been so unprepared for the start of the school year, as I was this year.  My middle child and I were at a couple stores late on Sunday evening, trying to scrounge up duotangs and glue sticks and pencil cases.  We did find some though, and most everything got organized in time.

My first orientation is tomorrow, when apparently the university will clarify everything for me.  I must admit, I think I was born under an unlucky star, when it comes to administrative stuff.  If something can go wrong in paperwork, sign up, basically any kind of administrative role, there's almost a guarantee that it'll go wrong with me.

My school's website tell me that I'm doing my paediatrics rotation first, followed by the maternity/L&D rotation.  The charts clearly show when my paediatrics lab orientation is, later this week, as well as my placement at the children's hospital, along with all my shifts.  That's great, I've made a calendar for myself with everything organized and clear.

Then I get emails from clinical instructors -- three different instructors, to be precise, who are all telling me when and where to report for my L&D rotation (the one I'm supposed to start at the end of October, and the one I don't have any labs scheduled for until again, the end of October). 

And not only did I receive information from three different instructors for the same clinical rotation, I've been told to report to two different hospitals for the same rotation!!!!  Crazy!!!

I've emailed the co-ordinator for third year, outlined the issue, supported my facts with evidence (yes, evidence based nursing practice!) and basically asked for clarification.

She replied and assured me that she'll clarify everything tomorrow morning, during the intro orientation. 

I'm so frustrated.  I just want to know where to go and when, and what rotation I'm doing, and when my clinical shifts will be.  I'm trying so hard to be organized this year, and it feels like I'm at the same place I'd have been, had I not been trying to be organized.  Spinning my wheels in place. 

Hopefully tomorrow it will get all sorted out.  It better, because the lab orientation starts the day after that.  And hopefully it will just get better...

Less than a month of summer left

School re-starts in less than a month from now.  That hardly seems possible.  I have my fall schedule printed off and ready to go.  Its a busy, full schedule.  Very busy.  Very full.  Paediatrics and L&D rotations and classes and labs await.

The problem is, I can hardly fathom actually living that schedule right now.  Right now, we're still in the middle of summer bliss -- no commitments, no real schedule, no morning rush, no lunches -- a whole bunch of nothing.  The kids and I are still doing tons of stuff; this has been one of the busiest summers we've ever had, in terms of doing fun and interesting things.  But the difference is that we're doing things on our schedule and on our terms.  If one child sleeps in one morning, that's OK, we'll just start our activity a bit later.  That's what I mean about having a 'schedule free' summer.

It's truly bliss.  This summer and last summer, I am enjoying my kids like never before. Before I started nursing school, summers we're just another marathon we had to somehow get through, and they basically had to be planned by late March, when the day camps filled up.  I now look back at those frenzied, stressed and over-tired days, and wonder how we did it all. 

Add to that, my going to a job every day that involved me putting in time, rather than enjoying it and looking forward to a fulfilling day, and it just made the entire situation even less pleasant. 

I want to stress that when I did work, I put in my best effort and did good work.  I was not a slacker, and on the surface, nobody would have had any idea how miserable I truly was at that job.  But from my perspective, it was simply a question of putting in the time, and getting through another day.  One more day closer to eventual retirement, several decades from now.  That was my perspective, and it was neither healthy nor living the life I wanted to live.

I really don't know how we did it, without the entire family unit falling apart.  It was having a detrimental effect on the kids -- they were showing signs of fatigue and stress.  My oldest was at the school's before-and-after school daycare, and was there from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm -- 10 hour days.

I'm not saying that such a lifestyle is not possible.  I am fully aware that this is the reality for many, many families, and they don't have the option to leave it. 

What makes me shake my head in wonder, is the fear of change that kept me back for so many years, and how it negatively affected the entire family.  We had been talking about this career change for over a decade, planned for it, saved money for it -- basically had all the parameters in place, except one.

That one was me actually having the guts to make the change.  Change is scary.  High job security is a strong force.

Now, having made the change, I cannot understand why it took me so long to make the change.  How I wish I'd done it so much sooner.  Yet, I am so grateful that I did make the change.  It would have been soooo easy to still be sitting in my office with the window, waiting to finish yet another work day...

Yes, I am so grateful to be where I am right now in my life -- even if it took longer to get here than I think it should have.  At least I'm here now.

Dreaming about nursing school

OK, not dreaming as in wishing to be going to nursing school...rather, having nightmares about missing clinical shifts in nursing school.

A few nights ago, I dreamt that it was the first week of third year, and by Friday afternoon of that first week, I finally got around to looking at my class schedule (like that would ever happen in real life!!!).  And to my horror, I realized that I had missed a clinical shift on Thursday and I'd half-way missed the Friday shift, which was already in progress.  I had no excuse for the missed shifts -- just simply that I had not bothered to look at the schedule!  Yikes. That would not go over well with the clinical instructors -- and with good reason!

Anyhow, to make a long dream short, I finally realized that it was just a very bad dream, and woke up with great relief.  Blessed relief.  It is still only July, and third year classes are still several weeks away.  And, I have the fall schedule already printed off and am very much aware when my clinical orientation starts.

I just found it interesting that my brain is already thinking ahead to starting that dreaded schedule that third year promises to be.  It will be very interesting and I know I will learn tons, but getting through those eight months will be a marathon in itself. I'll just have to take it day by day, and not get all worked up about the big picture/schedule. 

One day at a time.

Lessons on Living, from the Dying

I came across an article recently in a French magazine, that talked about a palliative care nurse, Bronnie Ware, who came up with her list of what the top five regrets were of dying people she was working with. I was going to translate the five regrets into English and post them, but today I found an English version of the article.

I believe there is so much truth to the five statements.  Personally, the first regret puts my career change in perspective.  That it truly was 'ok' to change careers even though I already had a great one going, and that ultimately, its 'ok' to be happy.  It's truly OK.  Really!

The five regrets are as follows:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

If I were to add one more to the list, I'd say, "I wish I'd been more grateful for what I already have."  I mean, its great to keep dreaming, growing, learning and experiencing new things. That's very important.  But at the same time, I think its also important to periodically look at just where you are in life, who is in your life, and what you already have, and just simply be grateful for it all.  I think most people are more blessed than they realize.

The link to the full article is here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying

If you're interested, Ms. Ware wrote a book the topic:

This is brilliant!!!

I saw this article on our national news broadcaster - CBC - website today.

What a genius idea this is: http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2013/07/cleft-lip-puppy-counsels-kids-with-facial-differences.html

This is a dog somewhere in the US, born with cleft-lip.  He had surgery to allow him to eat.  Now this puppy visits with and counsels kids with facial differences. 

Lentil is a French bulldog born with a cleft lip condition who spends his days boosting the self-esteem of kids with similar ailments.

Simply genius!!!  Way to go, whoever came up with this idea.  :-)  I am so proud of people who do things like this for others.  Proud of people who see beauty and potential in everything and everyone.




Go Team Lentil!!!